If Patriots don't sign Stephen Gostkowski, what are other kicker options?

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Should the New England Patriots really use their franchise tag on 35-year-old kicker Stephen Gostkowski? It turns out there might be a good reason for it.

Gostkowski has been the Patriots kicker since 2006, when he took over for the departing Adam Vinatieri.

Gostkowski has missed his fair share of kicks in Super Bowls and  big games, including a missed field and extra point in Miami this year, either of which would have prevented the infamous Miami Miracle. He also missed an extra point in the AFC Championship Game in Denver a few years ago—his first extra point miss since 2006, and only the second of his career at that point, ending a streak of 523 consecutive successful attempts. That miss very well may have caused the Patriots to miss the Super Bowl, as they tried and field to complete a 2-point conversion at the end of the game.

Gostkowski also missed an extra point in Super Bowl LI, a field goal and an extra point in Super Bowl LII, and a field goal in Super Bowl LIII.

Still, there are some very good reasons why New England may want to keep Gostkowski.

First of all, the veteran kicker actually made the third most extra points in the NFL in 2018, behind Kansas City's Harrison Butker, and New Orleans' Wil Lutz.

Since the NFL moved the extra point back to the 15-yard line, kickers collectively have been more prone to misses.

Earlier last season, Packers kicker Mason Crosby missed five kicks in the same game—and who could forget Bears kicker Cody Parkey's missed field goal against the Eagles that eliminated his team from the playoffs?

So, while Gostowski has missed some kicks, he is far from a liability, and has actually been regarded of the most reliable kickers in the league throughout his career.

But here's another reason why the Patriots may want to stick with Gostkowski:

There will only be a few kickers in the 2019 NFL Draft.

CBS Sports lists of a whopping total of three kickers who could go in this year's draft: Utah's Matt Gay, LSU's Cole Tracy, and Oklahoma's Austin Seibert.

There are also some free agent kickers out there -- Robbie Gould, Sebastian Janikowski, Phil Dawson, and Dan Bailey, to name a few -- but given age, the fact these players were not retained by their former teams, and the Patriots' familiarity with Gostkowski, they may choose to deal with a known commodity.

Given the value of draft picks, and especially the fact that the Patriots will need to add depth at key positions, keeping Gostkowski could be best option on the table.

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